(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) The German parliament gave its overwhelming backing last night to key parts of Europe's efforts to combat the region's debt crisis.
After a protracted round of political horse-trading, the parliament in Berlin ratified Europe's fiscal pact on budget discipline, as well as agreeing to the Eurozone's permanent 500-billion-euro (633-billion-dollar) bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told lawmakers that the parliament's support for the ESM and the fiscal pact would send an important signal with the opposition Social Democrats and Greens voting alongside the government - representing more than two-thirds of the deputies.
She said the vote for the two instruments was an important signal that Germany had "determination and solidity in overcoming the euro debt crisis and that Europe is our future."
Several hours after the vote in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, the Bundesrat, representing Germany's 16 states, also gave the greenlight to the ESM and the fiscal pact with a two-third's majority.
Friday's vote was held on the last day before parliament's summer recess.
The chancellor had rushed back to Berlin to deliver her speech on the outcome of a tough two-day European leaders' summit in Brussels, which agreed new measures to face up to the debt crisis that has hit growth across the 17-member Eurozone economy.
While the chancellor stood her ground at the summit in opposing moves to pool Eurozone debt, she agreed to quick-fix steps addressing the crisis.
This included agreeing to allow the ESM to give direct help to troubled Eurozone banks - something that Berlin has previously opposed.
In her speech to parliament, Merkel defended the concessions she made in Brussels, insisting that strict conditions would apply to any assistance provided by the ESM.
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